Packaging machine



Nov. 18, 1941. E. w. SINGER PACKAGING MACHINE Filed July 5, 1940 s" Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR fen/arlz/fim/en BY ATTOR Y5 Nov. 18,1941. E.w.s1NG1-:R m

PACKAGING MACHINE Nov. 18, 1941.

E. w. SINGER 2,263,250

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed July 5, 1940 s Sheets- -Shee t 5 INVENTOR QM-5PM ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 18, 1941 PACKAGING MACHINE Ernest W. Singer, Brooklyn, 'N. Y., assignor :to

Beech-Nut Packing Company, N. ,Y., a corporation of New York .Oanajoharie,

Appiicationiuly 5, 1940, Serial N 0. 344,049

.5 Claims.

The present invention 'relates to packaging machines, and has special reference to machines for packing candy-coated gum in boxes.

With the machines at present in general commercial use for packaging candy-coated gum, it sometimes happens that the box filling devices fail to place the required number of pieces in the boxes, and consequently a box of gum is liable to reach the consumer with one or more pieces missing. 7

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means in a machine of this character for overcomingthe disadvantage referred to of the prior machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved detecting device that is particularly adapted for-use character indicated.

The several features of the invention, whereby these and other objects may be attained, will be readily understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

ina machine of the Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a' pack aging machine embodying the features of the present invention in their preferred form;

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and are sectional'views on an enlarged scale, taken'on the lines 2-2, 33, 4 -4, and 55, respectively, of Fig. 1;

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatical plan views illustrating the manner of in a box;

Fig. 10 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of a partially filled box of candy-coated gum being operated upon by my improved detecting device; and

Fig. 11 is a similar view of said portion of the box after it leaves the machine.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is par ticularly adapted for packaging pieces 2 of candycoated gum in paper boxes 4. The pieces 2 are in the form of rectangular tablets as customary, and they are placed in the boxes in two rows with the pieces arranged side by side. There may be six pieces in each row, making a total of twelve for each box.

The boxes 4 may be made of cardboard and their ends are provided with the usual corner flaps 6 and end flaps 8, the end flaps being scored on a line 9. i

In placing the pieces inthe box, the box is opened up and thetwo rows of pieces slid lengthwise into one end thereof. The flaps 6 and 8 are then closed, each end flap being folded or tucked beneath the end of a side wall of the box.

The illustrated machine may be provided with positioning the articles means (not shown) for assembling the articles in trays 10 which are arranged one following the other. Each tray has a bottom wall [2 and side walls I4, the ends of the tray being open. The

two rows of gum are assembled in each tray with the rows parallel with the side walls tray. v

The trays arefed intermittently in a direction transversely of the side walls by means of an endless belt or chain (not shown).

[4 of the When a tray reaches a predetermined station in its travel, a blade or plunger l6 engages the outer edges of the endmost pieces ofthe two rows of gum and shovesthegum out of the tray inthe' manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. As the gum is thus being acted upon, a box 4 is positioned by suitable means (not shown) on an elongated table comprising rails I I and beneath guide bars A cover plate extends over this portion of the table and supports the guide bars I5,the plate being secured to the bar l3. The' i3 and I5.

box is thus positioned in alinement with the rows of gum. The continued movement'of the plunger l6 carries the pieces of port gum over a flanged sup- I S and into the box. A guide plate H extends over thetray and thesupport Hi. When the advancing ends of the two rows of gum reach the free end of the box, the plunger 16 is retracted into position'to feed thenext tray full of gum that is positioned in alinementwith the plunger 16.

Whenthe box is thus filled with gum it is intermittently fed sidewise and another box is placed in position to receive the next tray full of 1 gum. Such intermittent feeding movements of the boxes on the rails ll may be effected by suit 19 working between able means such as fingers the rails II and engaging the rear edges ofthe boxes. During the feeding movement of the filled boxes the usual devices 20 turn in the corner flaps 6. During subsequent movementsof each box the end flaps 8 are carried into engagement with folding devices comprising tucking blades 22 which fold the flaps downwardly and then 1113-- Wardly so as to cause their edges to be tucked a slight distance beneath blades 24 which move-inwardlyto engage'the flaps the upper side wall of the" box so as to hold the flap in position. The fold- 8 and force them into their final position beneath the ends of the upper side wall of the box and over the endmost pieces of gum. This completes the packaging of the gum and thereafter the filled box is discharged from the machine.

The parts of the machine above described are of a machine heretofore in commercial use and form no part of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, means is provided whereby in case the machine fails to place the required number of pieces of gum in each box, the tucking devices that act on one of the flaps 8 will fail to tuck the flap or a portion thereof into the box. When the box is discharged from the machine with the fiap thus improperly folded and closed, the defective box may be readily detected by the operator and thrown out so that it will not reach the consumer.

In case a piece of gum is missing from the foremost row in any one tray, when the blade I6 advances to fill a box, there is a vacant space left at the further end of the row as illustrated in Fig. 9. When this occurs, as the box approaches the folding blades 22 a roller 26 acts to depress or bend the portion of the upper side wall of the box over the vacant space as illustrated in Fig. 10. When this occurs the advancing corner of the flap 8, instead of being tucked beneath the side wall by the blade folder 22 slides over the top surface of the side wall.

When the flap thus improperly folded reaches the final folders 24, it may assume the position shown in Fig. 11 in which one corner thereof is tucked in and the other corner sticks out (as shown), and thence may be easily detected by the operator.

The roller 26 is mounted to turn on a pin 28 carried by the bifurcated end of an arm 30 which is pivotally mounted on a stud 32 that is secured by a screw 34 in an aperture in a bracket 36. This bracket is secured by a bolt 38 to a cross-bar 40 on the frame of the machine. The bolt 38 extends through an elongated slot 42 in the bracket so as to permit the roller 26 to be adjusted transversely of the direction of travel of the boxes. The roller 26 is yieldingly pressed downwardly by means of a coiled spring 44 having one end secured to the bracket 36 and its other end secured to a pin 46 projecting from the roll-carrying arm 30.

During the normal operation of the machine, the filled boxes ride beneath the roll 26 and the fiap folding devices perform their function of tucking in the end flaps, the pressure of the roller 26 being insufficient to crush the pieces of gum. When, however, a piece of gum is missing from the foremost row in a box and a space is left at the end of said row, the roller then bends that portion of the side wall downwardly and prevents proper tucking in of the flap as above described.

In case a piece of gum, instead of missing from the front row in a tray, is missing from the rear row, as shown in Fig. 6, the piece of gum in the'front row opposite this space is shifted into said space. Irrespective, therefore, of whichever row the piece of gum is omitted from when the two rows of gum are placed in the box, the vacant space will occur at the further end of the front row of gum so that the detector r011 26 will function as above described. Such shifting ofa piece of gum from the front row to the rear row when a piece of gum is omitted from the rear-row, is accomplished by means of fingers 48.

These fingers are pivotally mounted on a rod 50 which is supported at one end by a bracket 52. The fingers 48 have their free ends resting on the trays and pieces of gum in the trays as the trays and gum are fed beneath the fingers, the fingers being spaced so as to be engaged by the central portions of the pieces of gum. These fingers 48 are guided by extending through slots 54 in a guide plate 56 secured to the bracket 52.

In case a piece of gum is missing from the rear row of any one tray, the piece of gum in the front row opposite the space that is left, engages and is retarded by the overlying finger 48 so as to cause the piece to be positioned in the vacant space in the rear row.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modifications Without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the class described for packing articles in boxes, each box having a closure fiap adapted to be folded in beneath the edge of a side wall of the box when the box is filled, devices for feeding articles into each box with the articles arranged in the box side by side, means for folding in the flap beneath said edge after said devices have thus operated, and detecting means acting automatically to bend said edge of the side wall inwardly to prevent such folding in of the fiap by said fiap folding means in case said feeding devices fail to feed a predetermined number of articles into the box.

2. In .a machine of the class described for packin articles in boxes, each box having a closure flap adapted to be folded in beneath the edge of a side wall of the box when the cox is filled, the combination of means for feeding articles in groups with the articles in each group arranged side by side in a plurality of rows with a predetermined number of articles in each row, such feeding of the articles being in a direction transverse to said rows of articles, means acting automatically in case during the feeding operation an article is missing from one of the rows to shift an article from the adjacent row into the space left vacant in said first-mentioned row, means acting when each group of articles reaches a predetermined station to feed the articles in a direction longitudinally of the rows into a box in such a manner as to position the vacant space left by the missing article in a predetermined position beneath said edge of said side wall, means for feeding the box with the articles therein in a direction transversely of said rows of articles, means for folding in said flap as the box approaches a predetermined station, and a detecting device serving to press the portion of said side wall edge that extends over said vacant space inwardly so as to dislodge said edge portion out of position to permit said folding devices to fold said flap beneath said edge portion.

3. In a machine of the class described for packing articles in boxes, each box having an end closure flap adapted to be folded in beneath the edge of the side wall of the box when the box is filled, the combination of devices for feeding articles into each box with the articles arranged in the box side by side, the articles entering the box through the end opposite to said fiap So that incase there is less than a predetermined number of articles thus fed into the box a vacant space occurs beneath said edge of the side wall, means for folding in the flap after said devices have thus operated, and detecting means acting automatically in case said feeding means fail to feed a predetermined number of articles into the box to bend inwardly the portion of said edge that extends over said vacant space to prevent said folding means from folding the flap into position beneath said edge.

4. Means for feeding boxes containing articles arranged side by side, each box having at least one end provided with a closure flap in open position, said boxes being fed sidewise, a roller mounted to engage the side wall of each box at said end as the box is fed, and means for yieldingly pressing the roller against said end of the side wall whereby when an article is missing from said end of the box said roller bends a portion of said end of the side wall inwardly.

. parallel with said edges of the boxes, and a detecting device mounted to ride on said side walls of the boxes adjacent said edges whereby when an article is missing from said end of a box said device acts to bend a portion of said edge of the side wall inwardly so as to prevent said folding means from folding the flap into position beneath said edge.

ERNEST W. SINGER. 

